April's TV Guide Interview

Top Model's April Axed
by Daniel R. Coleridge

This week's America's Next Top Model was all about "Italian sensuality," making for the spiciest episode yet. Shandi cheated on her boyfriend with an Italian stallion, then called the b.f. to tearfully confess her trangression! (Don't hot tubs always lead to trouble on reality TV?) In the end, though, it was bossy April Wilkner whom Tyra and the judges cut. Here, TV Guide Online showers April with our juiciest questions!

TV Guide Online: Is it hard to look surprised every week when Tyra announces what you'll win if chosen as America's Next Top Model?
April Wilkner: [Laughs] I gotta say the hardest part of this whole thing for me was always the judging room. You feel like you're on display, and it's tense.

TVGO: Ever get a chance to express your feelings to Nigel?
April: We just have a great model-photographer chemistry, but it totally stays in the studio. He's a happily married man and I have a boyfriend.

TVGO: Would you think him a catch if neither of you were attached?
April: [Chuckles] Obviously, he's an attractive guy, but it was totally professional with him. He's a gentleman and I look forward to working with him again in the studio.

TVGO: Why didn't you stop Shandi from hooking up with the Italian guy?
April: Shandi's a grown woman. If she was going ahead and doing what she did, you just gotta assume it's because that's what she wants to do. It wasn't my place at all.

TVGO: Did you keep quiet in hopes that Shandi's tryst might cost her victory?
April: It was made very clear to us that what goes on behind the scenes is not part of the judging criteria, so that never even crossed my mind.

TVGO: After the Milan shoot, Janice Dickinson said "[April's] photograph looks like the battery has died in her vibrator." Yikes! What's your reaction to such sass?
April: Janice is crafty with her words. You've got to give her credit. I was like, "OK, I guess I didn't do too good on that one. Mental note to self: I'll have to work on my vibrator-just-died pose." Some girls would've taken it a lot worse. I basically roll with the punches.

TVGO: You appeared ashamed of your half-Asian heritage on the show. Anything you want to say about that?
April: I am extremely proud of all sides of my heritage. I am half Japanese, [as well as] German, Irish, Scottish and Welsh. I'm a mutt, loud and proud! I really felt the judges were trying to put me in a box, like, "You're just Asian and that's all you are to us." I didn't want to lay down for that and neglect half of who I was. People want to stereotype you and put you in a category.

TVGO: They suggested that your employment choices are limited as an Asian-looking model, right?
April: What I really wanted them to do was see past that and see me as more than the token Asian girl. I'm very proud of being half Japanese. It's great! I just didn't want them to force me into that category to make things simpler [for themselves].

TVGO: You appeared ashamed of your half-Asian heritage on the show. Anything you want to say about that?
April: I am extremely proud of all sides of my heritage. I am half Japanese, [as well as] German, Irish, Scottish and Welsh. I'm a mutt, loud and proud! I really felt the judges were trying to put me in a box, like, "You're just Asian and that's all you are to us." I didn't want to lay down for that and neglect half of who I was. People want to stereotype you and put you in a category.

TVGO: They suggested that your employment choices are limited as an Asian-looking model, right?
April: What I really wanted them to do was see past that and see me as more than the token Asian girl. I'm very proud of being half Japanese. It's great! I just didn't want them to force me into that category to make things simpler [for themselves].

I want to show this to everyone who's judged her unfairly on the subject.

April is so articulate. I'm glad she sounds this definite about continuing modeling and even working with Nigel again. And, yeah, I miss her.

If nodding your head is angst, then wow. I better not nod my head when people give me critism.

I'm not referring to the head nodding. I'm referring to April becoming a complete stress case <b>after</b> each elimination. I distinctly recall Mercedes commenting that that's typical for April and she won't make to 27 if she doesn't stop over analyzing and stressing out like that.

She doesn't stress out about their comments. She stresses about the competition in general.

Gotta disagree with you there. I remember her stressing out at the beauty shoot because the judges said they didn't like her personality. (Which isn't actually what Tyra said, but that's how April took it.) I don't believe that was an isolated incident.